Yes, I’m just trying to generate some comment traffic, but I am curious nonetheless.

Here’s my list:

1. Science Fiction – Dune trilogy
2. Fantasy – Lord of the Rings
3. Fiction – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
4. Non-Fiction – This is a tough one… (as if the others aren’t) If you put “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” in this category, I’d go with that.

On sci fi it’s a tough call. There are really three great works of fiction in sci-fi and fantasy that I consider to be roughly equal in epic scope, beautiful writing, incredible creativity of entire universes and pure fun to read, and those are “Lord of the Rings,” “The Foundation Trilogy” and “Dune”. They are head and shoulders above the rest of the genres.

But having said that, there are single books that are as good as, and possibly even better than, any single book in the trilogies above. Hyperion may be the best example of that, or Ender’s Game. Both of those first books were stunning, but subsequent books fell flat. But Dune fell flat with books four through infinity. Herbert should have known when to quit.

I can’t say I cared for the books of Thomas Covenant. And it isn’t because I don’t like flawed or dark heroes. The “Black Company” for example, is as dark and flawed as “heroes” get, and I love that series. I just didn’t care for Thomas Covenant as a character and found the magic to be unbelievable. Too many fantasy books suffer from the “miraculous epiphany” syndrome. Harry Potter is perhaps the best example of this (and I really like the Harry Potter books). The hero shows no great abilities or skills or any sense of destiny other than the author keeps telling the reader what a great hero he/she is. Then suddenly, in a moment of crisis, some hitherto unknown and hidden power bursts forth and the hero overcomes the enemy, frequently without even knowing how.